CoreCivic sells Leavenworth detention facility to Department of Homeland Security
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (KCTV) - A private prison company whose facility in eastern Kansas has been the subject of controversy for years has sold it to the federal government.
CoreCivic announced on Thursday that it completed a $734 million sale of two detention facilities to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, including its Leavenworth, Kansas, prison. The company said it expects to continue operating both sites under existing contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Midwest Regional Reception Center in Leavenworth houses more than 1,000 beds and sold for $238.4 million. The other prison sold was the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, Minnesota, and it holds 1,600 beds.
The Leavenworth facility has been controversial for years and has been the center of legal battles and public debate.
For 30 years, CoreCivic had a contract with the US Marshals Service to house people charged with but not yet convicted of federal crimes. It closed in 2021 when its contract expired. Earlier that year, President Joe Biden issued an executive order stopping the renewal of federal contracts for private detention centers.
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